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The Obama presidency has launched an attack on Fox News. It is phony and diminishes the office of the presidency. Fox News has exposed the radical ideology of Van Jones, a White House adviser, who eventually resigned. It has exposed school children literally singing the praises of the president. Its editorial programs, led by Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity, regularly are critical of the president and his ideology. Even the New York Times has admitted that its reporters have not been as aggressive in following up on key news stories developed by Fox News. The Washington Post has admitted the same. So, what is going on?
- The White House has not criticized Rachel Maddow or Keith Olbermann of MSNBC or Maureen Dowd, Frank Rich and Bob Herbert of the New York Times who are just as ideological as Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity. The only difference is that they are decidedly liberal and Fox is conservative. The White House cannot have it both ways. If they are criticizing Fox News as not really “a news organization,” it cannot embrace MSNBC then either. It is a phony claim and the White House should be ashamed of itself.
- As Charles Krauthammer has observed, “Fox News is no monopoly. It is a singular minority in a sea of liberal media. ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, NPR, CNN, MSNBC vs. Fox. The lineup is so unbalanced as to be comical—and that doesn’t include the other commanding heights of the culture that are firmly, flagrantly liberal: Hollywood, the foundations, the universities, the elite newspapers.”
Personally, I do not always enjoy the variety of programs on Fox News. But I have reached this conclusion: It is healthy in our democratic-republic to have a news organization such as Fox News. Its news reporters, which largely comprise the regular Fox programming throughout the day, are top notch. Its more opinionated programs from 5 to 9 pm provide a checks and balances network that this nation needs. It will not work for the White House to attempt to delegitimize the Fox News Network. In fact, what I hope occurs is that the American people will see this for what it is—the same attempt Richard Nixon pursued. Nixon was so upset by the liberal news media that he made war on it. It did not work then! It will not work for Obama to make war on the one network that gives another voice to his liberal policies. This is a democracy and there is still freedom of the press. If nothing else, Fox News can guarantee that this freedom is preserved.
See Krauthammer’s essay in the Washington Post (23 October 2009) and Jim Ruttenberg in the New York Times (23 October 2009). |
